


Animus Nocendi

by rexdaemoniorum



Series: Teufel Law [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Boy King of Hell Sam Winchester, Dark Sam Winchester, Demon Deals, Demon Hunters, Evil Sam Winchester, Gen, Hunters & Hunting, Lawyer Sam Winchester, Sam Winchester's Demonic Powers, brief use of the q slur, just in case you need to be warned, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 20:21:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17535590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rexdaemoniorum/pseuds/rexdaemoniorum
Summary: Neil, a seasoned monster hunter, was not surprised to hear that John Winchester's younger son had become the king of hell. But when a deal with an oddly familiar lawyer nearly drives his friend and fellow hunter to insanity, he realizes there might be a sinister correlation between the two.





	Animus Nocendi

The building was your standard run-of-the-mill business park. It had a menagerie of different companies and services being offered on its multiple floors. Neil walked in and looked at the aged letter board by the elevator.  
  
**2nd Floor - Alan Teufel, Private Practices**  
  
_Bingo_ . He stepped into the shaft and pressed the button for the second floor, looking at his reflection in the ceiling mirror of the elevator. He had no doubts that the king of Hell had taken residence here.  


_Not covert enough, Winchester_ , he thought.  
  
The bell dinged, the doors opened, and the scenery changed completely. As opposed to standard plastic chairs and drab tile floors, the lobby of the law office was.. stunning. He slowly stepped onto the fine burgundy carpeting as if he’d be charged for doing so. He looked up from the entrancing floor to the desk up ahead, where a lady with fiery red hair in a neat ponytail sat.  


“Hi,” she said with a smile. “Are you here to see Mr. Teufel?”  
  
“Ah.. yeah. Yes, please.” He stammered, still hung up on the pricey looking room around them. The receptionist opened up a binder and skimmed it briefly, humming to herself all the while.  
  
“Yeah, he usually only meets with clients who schedule beforehand, but.. since it’s a slow day, I’ll see if he’ll let you in.”  
  
“Thank you, ma’am,” he smiled back and winked, hoping her drop in enthusiasm was out of shyness.  
  
Neil absentmindedly thrummed his fingers on the desk while waiting, suddenly caught off guard when the lady reached out with her pen and held them down.  
  
“Yes, sir, there’s someone here to see you. He didn’t book an appointment, though.”  
  
A long pause followed, and he conveniently noticed the bluetooth piece in her ear, then watched her briefly glance at him, looking him up and down before speaking again.  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Another pause.  
  
“Okay, great. I’ll send him in.”  
  
She looked back up at Neil and gestured to the dark hallway adjacent to her desk.  
  
“Mr. Teufel will see you now.”  
  
Smothering his hesitations, Neil nodded before heading down the hallway, nothing at the end but a single door.  
  
Seated in the middle of the dim room was the man himself. His hair was slicked back and his face was freshly shaved, and the light offered a stark contrast upon his sharp features. He looked up from his paperwork, and where Neil expected a courteous smile he was met with narrowed eyes and a cold stare. Two more suited men stood at both of his sides, and they looked no friendlier.  
  
“Alan Teufel,” Neil began cautiously. He was willing to play along with this pretend game.  
  
“That’s the name of the lawyer,” The man cut him off, tapping the name tag on his desk with his pen. “..and something tells me you’re not here to talk about a contract.” He folded his hands and leaned forward as Neil took a seat.  
  
“Well, _Sam._ .” He drew out Mr. Teufel’s real name like a threat, watching his eyes narrow in displeasure. “..Our buddy Percy had just finished clearing a vamp’s nest. Took on the whole thing by himself, or.. so we thought. Few days later the dude started acting out, swearing he heard dogs barking, smelt fire, yadda yadda.. we had no idea what had gotten into him. Then he started rambling about a deal he made. Talkin' about this Mr. Teufel nonsense. So, here I am.” Neil finished, promptly folding his arms.  
  
Leaning back in his chair, Sam furrowed his brows in disagreement. “He didn’t take on that nest by himself.”  
  
Neil’s face dropped. Seems this tool got attached to the wrong details. “Well, yeah, none of us believe that.”  
  
Sam chuckled and looked up to the demons surrounding them, who simply presented small, fake smiles.  
  
“Now, listen, ah- w-what’s your name?”  
  
“Neil.”  
  
“Neil, your friend is going to be fine. All he’s gotta do is hold up his end of the contract he signed in exchange for my help.”  
  
The hunter sputtered at that answer. “Wh- he- he asked for your help?!”  
  
“Well, the nest was in close proximity to his family. He had to get it taken care of, quick,” Sam explained. Out of context, it sounded like something as simple as an insect extermination. The king folded his arms and leaned forward, “That’s why I made him an offer he can’t refuse,” he crooned in a ham-fisted impression of a mob boss before chuckling to himself.  
  
“So you held the lives of his family over his head so you could make a deal?”  
  
He felt his skin crawl as he heard the surrounding demons snicker, quickly dying down as their king raised a hand and silenced them.  
  
“It’s a small price to pay, really. I mean,” he shrugged, “all I asked of him was my own safety. There’s no telling if I’d become his next target.”  
  
“Come on, Sammy. If you saved his family, he wouldn’t-“  
  
Suddenly, one of the guards grabbed and slammed Neil’s head into the desk. He heard a crunch, jarring and loud, felt his nose dripping blood. He had barely registered the action before he felt himself being forced to make eye contact. Now, the king’s eyes were glowing a wicked yellow. He gasped for breath while Sam sat unfazed in his seat.  
  
“You’re speaking to a king.” Sam growled as he fiddled with a pen. “I suggest you show me some respect.” His stare was unwavering, and those eyes reminded Neil of an owl.  
  
“As I was saying.. lots of hunters of your.. _ilk_ ..” the word dripped out of Sam’s mouth like venom, “..seem to think they have the balls to take me on,” he said with facetious intrigue. “And swatting away the flies gets bothersome after a while, you know?” His lips dropped into a frown, almost as if he were looking in his eyes for sympathy.  
  
“Please elaborate, _Sam_ ..” Neil muttered through the blood bubbling over his lips, feeling the demon’s grip on his head finally disappear.  
  
“I’m a hunter too, Neil. I know a thing or two about the craft. So I make deals offering my assistance if other hunters need it, given I..” he winked one of those strange yellow eyes, glowing like candles, “..have a higher standing among monsters, too.”  


His guest furrowed his brows, unable to follow so briefly after the sudden blunt force trauma he’d endured.  
  
“And how do you guarantee the hunter holds up their end of the bargain?”  
  
“A hex.” The king replied coolly as if his answer was insignificant. “Doesn’t sell me your soul, but.. makes it mine the second you act on the thought of hurting me.”  
  
“What? Since when are you entitled to loyalty? For your little monster schemes? You’re outta your mind, boy, I-!”  
  
As expected, Neil was seized again for his outburst. This time, however, it was Sam who reached across the table and grabbed him by his collar, pulling him in dangerously close. Those fiendish eyes were like flashlights straight into his own.  
  
“Entitled to loyalty..?” he parroted in a voice now dark and low with rage. “It may not have occurred to you, but I could let my legions loose on humanity with the snap of my fingers..”  
He held up a hand as if ready to do it.

  
“..There’s enough of them to raze the earth in a matter of days, violent enough to drown it in the blood of men, women, and children..” His glowing eyes flickered up and down as he observed the fear appearing on Neil’s face. Sam leaned in until their heads nearly touched. “ _I could skull-fuck the world if I simply felt like it_..” his grip tightened with such bloodcurdling threats, and Neil swore he could see everything with one glimpse into the king’s eyes.

 

Terror and torture on an apocalyptic scale.. his loved ones, his brothers, his friends.. all lifeless, bloody, and scattered amongst the mass grave that was Earth, scavenged and picked to the bone by all kinds of hellish creatures. All at the hands of that damn Winchester boy.  
  
“..But I would never do that.” Sam said casually, dropping Neil onto the desk and readjusting his seat. “That’s barbaric, and unnecessary, and.. just not me. And I think everybody seems to take my mercy for granted.”  
  
Neil slumped back into his own chair, wiping his bloody nose on his sleeve.  
  
“..I’m sorry,” Sam chuckled. “I got sidetracked. You here to make a deal or not?”  
  
Neil took half a minute to register the sudden drop in tension. He could barely focus with his stomach turned into a sailor’s knot. He felt the weight of a black hole inside him as he forced out an answer. “N.. no, I’m.. no, sir.” He answered, still trying to process everything Sam said. The guards seized him before he could continue, their grip on his shoulders making him groan in pain as they dragged him out the door.  
  
“Well, then- thank you for stopping by, Neil,” the king waved him off, his eyes glowing like distant streetlights. At the very last second, the obviously false air of politeness turned back into a cold, brutal stare, and Neil felt a wave of nausea coming on as the horrid images resurfaced in his brain, the grisly details of the king’s backhanded threats becoming even more vivid.

 

Afterwards, Neil stepped back into the dull elevator, and felt as if he were exiting some strange pocket dimension. Years and years ago, he thought of Sam as the meek and gentle of John Winchester’s two boys, who turned his nose up at the thought of hunting monsters. Now, he was a king, with unimaginable power, and the audacity to use it as leverage. With loyal enough subjects to contort themselves into his throne, and enough strength to crush the world in his palm- _but only if he felt like it._

* * *

 

  
Two days later, Neil hit the local pub with his two fellow hunter friends to discuss what he’d found out. He planned on going straight to them after he’d visited Sam, but an experience like that needed a bit of a break in between.

 

“He’s got a whole law office and everything.” Neil explained in a low voice, as if Sam was watching him.  
  
“Law ‘fice? Figures the boy’d up’n git an office!” Richie howled in laughter. As devoted and dedicated to hunting as he was, he was unintelligible half of the time. He was the poster boy of white trash stereotypes.  
  
“Does he got a name on it?” asked Dan through a mouthful of tobacco.  
  
“Alan Teufel,” Neil answered before taking a sip of beer. His friends looked to each other for laughter and found plenty of it, chuckling and hiccuping.  
  
“That’s just like John’s lil’ boy, playin’ pretend wit’ a queer name like that,” snorted Richie, who was unfazed when both his cohorts (and even some other nearby patrons) turned to him in disgust at his word choice.  
  
None of them said anything, letting Dan’s chewing speak for itself. “Didja even know John that well?”  
  
“W- I..” he began in response, “I met ‘em once er twice..”  
  
“Okay, anyway,” Neil continued the train of thought and left Richie at the station. “He seems to be.. making monster hunting into a business venture. He offers his help for cases in exchange for agreeing not to turn on him.”  
  
His friends stopped their drinking and chewing at the same time, registering what Neil had said before both of them started talking over each other.  
  
“N’ what does he have’ta give? Surely he ain’t _that_ good a hunter..”  
  
“I mean, when it’s John’s son.. who also happens to be a demon..”  
  
Neil brought up his hands, trying to quell the disturbing implications of their talk to the unaware guests around them. “Guys, guys—,” he didn’t want to blow their cover; and that meant using inside voices and taking turns speaking. A rather difficult task with Richie involved. “He’s not _a_ demon, Dan. He’s the big boss demon. He had cronies on all sides of the room, and- his eyes were yellow instead of black.”  


“Yeller?!” Richie wheezed. “Didn’t John always say sum’bout a yeller-eyed demon? Ain’t it the one that up’n killed his girl?” Despite the disturbing subject, he had a thrilled grin on his face like he’d had an epiphany.  


“Yeah, dumbass,” Dan rolled his eyes after shooting a disgusted glance at Richie’s rotten, checkerboard smile. “He was suspicious that it really wanted his kid. Guess he was right, huh..?”

 

Neil didn’t say anything. He was too busy thinking about what brought Sam to their attention in the first place.

 

“Either of you check on Percy?”

 

“Naw,” Richie grumbled. Neil waited for a second statement, then stood up when he didn’t receive one.

 

“Gotta do everything myself then, huh?” He threw on his jacket and adjusted his hat before heading out. All of this would have been for nothing without the concern for their friend.

* * *

 

The hunter rapped on the old wood door of Percy’s house, anticipating his approach as he heard the creaking of footsteps on aged floorboards. Percy seemed well- almost _too_ well.

 

“Hiya, Neil,” he greeted him, in a surprisingly chipper mood. “Nice to see you ‘round, huh? Come in.”

 

He brought Neil inside and had him sit while he grabbed his friend a beer. When Neil declined, he sat across from him and cracked it open for himself.

 

“What can I do you for?”

 

His guest shrugged and averted his gaze, failing miserably to seem casual. The place looked like it’d been collecting dust for years- the sunbeam coming through the window looked like a grainy screen with all the illuminated particles floating through it.

 

“I just.. was wondering how you’ve been holding up. You seemed.. troubled, you know?” Neil’s lips trembled as he struggled to verbalize his thoughts. “..With-.. with this whole _Sam_ nonsense.”

 

Percy jumped at the mention of the demon’s name, gritting his teeth and gesturing for Neil to lower his voice, as if they weren’t in the privacy of his home. “Neil, I..” he stopped himself in his tracks to regain his composure and start over. “Yeah, I.. it was pretty scary. But talked it over with Mr. Teufel and, well, it’s.. water under the bridge!” He said with a performative smile.

 

Neil looked at him with nothing but skepticism in his face. “Percy, you know that’s _never_ the case in the hunting lifestyle. You were out of your mind, man, y.. you still hearin’ dogs?”

 

“No! I’m fine!” He insisted, almost getting out of his seat. “I’ve negotiated more with him, and we’ve cleared the air, okay?” Having heard that, Neil narrowed his eyes and put his arms at his sides.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Neil, Alan Teufel is a gentleman. Truly. The man has no intent on hurting any of us if we don’t hurt him! _And_ he’ll help out anybody having trouble with monster hunting! Before him, monsters and demons alike had it out for us. You know that.”

 

“I don’t believe a word he says, Perce,” he warned, shaking his head like a scolding older lady. “And I- I mean, his name’s not even Alan Teufel! It’s a front, for chrissakes!” He noticed his host tense up again at the mention of the lawyer’s credibility.

 

“I-I know. But it was a business thing. So that’s who he is t- to me. And I know shit seemed scary back when I was having my doubts, b-but now I get it. All he asks for in return is respect.”

 

Incredibly skeptical, Neil reached in his pocket. Percy watched as he pulled out his holy water flask, determined enough to prove himself and not hesitating when Neil uncapped it and splashed him, unmoving when he was hit with the cold drops.

 

“And you really went on a hunt with him?” Neil immediately picked back up. “The hell was that like?” Percy wiped the water droplets off his cheek.

 

“Almost wasn’t really a hunt, y’know? Dude’s got crazy powers. Vamps didn’t even have a hand on him before he had ‘em in pieces. His dogs were runnin’ through the place, too.” Percy’s eye twitched like the memory alone was disturbing enough. “He cleared the nest in under thirty minutes.”

 

Neil let out a long whistle. Sounds like “Alan” was certainly capable of delivering his side of the bargain.

 

“I figured he had an idea what was up with you. But when he told me you made a deal with him I almost thought it was the stupidest idea—“

 

“Hey now, hey, wait,” Percy stopped himself mid-sentence. “When’d _you_ talk to him?”

 

Neil decided there was nothing to hide about it. At best, it showed how good of a friend he was to get to the bottom of what had him so shaken up. “The other day. Went to his office. Just asked what exactly happened between you guys, y’know?”

 

Percy nodded in understanding, the sweat rolling off of his red, leathery skin. “O-.. Oh. Y-you got it. Glad we’re in agreement, though. Alan’s a fine fellow.”

 

His guest could tell there was nothing more to gain from this conversation, so he headed for the door before stopping abruptly at the last part. “What’s with the ‘Alan’ shit? You know that name’s bullcrap, right? It’s Sam. His name is Sam Winchester. He’s..” He trailed off after noticing the fear taking hold of Percy, who stumbled over and clutched his shoulder.

 

“Neil, I swear to God, just _shut up._.!” His grip was trembling as if he struggled just to hold on.

 

“Wh- okay, obviously he’s done something to make you bug out like this, Percy, honestly!” He shook him off and turned back to give him one last glance, then noticing a shadow pass over the windows on the other side of the room. The lights flickered, the house creaked, and Neil could see a wave of dread washing over Percy, who practically lunged to the coffee table and grabbed an iron blade from a drawer inside.

 

“Fuck, Neil, fuck—!” Percy couldn’t even hide his fear as he scrambled for last minute tools to save him. But when the portly man turned back to his guest, he looked past him as if someone were standing behind him. And there was. Neil could feel the presence of something looming over his back. A hot breath puffed onto the back of his neck, and it felt as if his skeleton had turned to stone in a matter of minutes.

 

“Neil,” a familiar voice crooned. Conveniently enough, it was the man himself. Neil attempted to take a long step over to Percy’s side, discovering that Sam had immobilized him with his powers. Towering over the motionless man, he came around to where the poor sucker could see him as he spoke back up. “I know when someone’s using my real name in the presence of a client. It’s part of the hex.” He winked one of those ghastly yellow eyes and turned around.

 

It seemed as if he didn’t even care for why Neil was there. He sauntered past the human statue and circled around Percy like the man was a cornered prey animal. He clapped his shoulder with a hand and leaned in to get a good look at his face.

 

“Well, Percy- how good of your friend to stop by. I’m sure he won’t mind if I borrow you for a second..” He looked to Neil, who was still immobile and mute under his influence. What a dickhead move. He felt tempted to start swinging on Sam the second he found himself free from this grip, then remembering the demonic equivalent of a loan shark is not the best person to get violent with.

 

Noticing Percy’s threadbare composure, Sam walked him over to the other side of the room.

 

“Come on. I’m feeling generous enough to let you off with a warning, okay?”

 

The hunter nodded hesitantly, which put a smile on Sam’s face. “I admire your motivation for seeking my help in the first place. Your beloved family, I understand,” those coyote eyes wandered to a picture frame on the table they were nearing, where a photo of Percy holding a young girl sat.

 

It was his goddaughter, around eight or nine years of age, who lived across the lake with his sister- the last of his family that kept in touch. Neil had known that about him within the first few hunts they’d done. Percy was the doting type- but since he wasn’t in the position to have a child of his own, he loved the absolute _hell_ out of his niece.

 

Sam reached out and grabbed the frame with a smug grin, knowing its owner didn’t have the guts to stop him from taking it.

 

Neil still couldn’t move. All he could do was watch, turned into a statue with nothing to do but eavesdrop on this tense agreement.

 

“I know she means a lot to you, Percy. Keeping her and her mother safe was your number one priority, and it couldn’t be done alone. I understand that, and I’m glad I could help.” His thumb came around to the front of the frame, applying pressure to the glass cover of the photo. “But you know you owe me for that, right? And the price to pay is practically nothing.”

 

“Y-yes, I do, Mr. Teufel.” Percy mumbled through his beard. He leaned back as Sam brought the picture closer, pressing down harder with his thumb.

 

Neil’s attempt at a shout couldn’t find its way out of his mouth. His muscles burned and ached as they worked to try and resist the demon’s psychic restraint.

 

“Percy, you’ve got loved ones who care about you. In the hunting community, not many can say that. But that means you’ve got more people to be there for. And that relies on you keeping your promise to me.”

 

The glass cracked beneath his finger, the split running between the image of Percy and the young girl. “Or else.” He dropped the photo into the hunter’s lap, who nervously clutched it to his chest. He wiggled out of Sam’s grip and turned directly to him.

 

“Say no more, Mr. Teufel. I won’t even entertain those thoughts anymore, alright? I pr- I swear.” After a moment of hesitation, he took Sam’s hand and kissed the large, garish ring on his middle finger- a gesture Neil found incredibly outlandish and absurd.

 

“You’re a good man, Percy. Smart, too. I have faith you won’t disappoint me.” Sam smiled down at him. “So your friends shouldn’t worry, either.” He looked up to Neil briefly before redirecting his attention back to his client.

 

Percy trembled as the king loomed over him, shakily speaking once more. “Thank you, Mr. Teufel.” He stepped backwards, unknowingly bumping into Neil and giving him an acknowledging pat without even turning back. Neil felt the imaginary strings holding him in place get severed, and his arms fell slack at his sides. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like Sam was done with him.

 

“Neil,” Sam tilted his head like an intrigued cat, “Perhaps we can talk on your way out.” He swaggered over, gesturing him out before glancing back at his host, who quickly turned away. Percy nervously mumbled some parting words before they left.

 

When the door closed behind them, the king’s gentle facade disappeared into thin air. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave me to my affairs and stop being so nosy.”

 

The hunter steeled himself before responding. “Or what? You admitted yourself you’re not gonna hurt anyone.”

 

Sam wasn’t meeting eyes with him until now, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth and exposing bright white teeth. They weren’t _that_ sharp, but they were certainly pointy enough to give him an inhuman appearance.

 

“Well, you must have misunderstood. I told you I wasn’t going to hurt _Percy_.”

 

They both turned to each other and stopped proceeding towards Neil’s car. Sam didn’t wait for him to respond and continued explaining.

 

“Percy’s a good man. He’s given me enough reason to not want to hurt him. You, on the other hand..” He prodded his chest with a long finger. “I think I can get away with _you_.”

 

Neil flinched at the jab. “The hell’s _that_ supposed to mean?” He stepped back- but moving in time with him, Sam kept the distance between them. He stepped forward until he snaked his hands up onto Neil’s shoulders. The touch made his blood run cold, and he couldn’t put his eyes anywhere other than Sam.

 

“Percy’s folks will miss him. They’ll suffer because of it. I can’t have that on my conscience. But I know about you.”

 

Neil’s stomach flipped when he began to suspect where Sam was going with such an accusation, but the demon had a vice grip on him. And this time, it was pure fear that froze him in place.

 

“I know about your wife. I know she probably hates herself for wishing death on you every day.” As he spoke, Neil swore he could see the sky growing dark and gray in his peripheral vision. “I know she and her son have found peace of mind in someone else. That man’s going to love them like you couldn’t. He won’t raise a hand at them, or go behind their backs.. like you did.”

 

“Fuckin’ hell,” Neil whispered, his voice giving out. “Who the fuck told you all that?”

 

“They know you’ve got a dangerous job. As convenient as it sounds, they know one of these days you might not come home. And I’m sure they wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep if they found out what happened to you. _”_

 

“Sam—!” He tried to shout in order to hopefully get Percy’s attention, but it came out as a hoarse whine. “Where the _fuck_ did you learn that?!”

 

The demon king leaned in again, his wolfish smile making Neil shudder.

 

“I’m gonna let you in on a secret. Your sins? It’s like they’re written on your face. Like a price tag on your soul. I didn’t know that until I was a demon myself.” He sneered and pulled him closer. “Nothing bad could come from killing you, is what I’m trying to say. So if I see you lurking one more time, I’m going to drag you down to Hell with no hesitation. Kicking and screaming.”

 

The ground beneath Neil’s feet started to scorch him through his shoes, and he danced like he were on hot coals. An orange glow began to flicker around them, suggesting the presence of hellfire.

 

“Have I made myself clear, Neil?”

 

“Yes!! Yes!” The hunter choked out through tears. Sam then released his grip with enough force to send him tumbling back. He fell onto his ass, and realized the world around them turned out to have never changed. The sky was a hazy grey-blue.

 

Sam smiled politely in response, supposedly re-adopting his lawyer persona once again. “Good.”

 

Neil’s hands shakily grasped the ground he sat on, as if he were confirming that it hadn’t vanished beneath him. Finding the courage to stumble back onto his feet, the hunter hesitantly nodded and began to turn towards his car, flinching when Sam spoke up once again.

 

“Until then, Neil,” he crooned.

 

Neil was gripped with uncertainty at the parting shot. “ _Then_ ? Wh- when is _then_?”

 

The demon shrugged with a smirk and turned in the opposite direction. “You’ll know soon enough.”

 

Within a second, he vanished. But the phantom flames continued to lick Neil’s skin, and he understood the sinister goodbye almost immediately. In the distance, he thought he could hear dogs barking.

* * *

 

It had been hours since Neil had left to check on Percy. Given how close he lived to the pub, they figured it wouldn’t be long.

 

“He alright?” Richie asked, leaning in and permeating his breathing space with his rotten musk. Dan scooched his chair further away and shrugged before he felt a vibration in his pocket.

 

It was Neil. Dan looked back at Richie and pointed to it with a nod before answering.

 

“Y’ello?”

 

“Percy’s fine.”

 

He blinked in hesitation. “Is he, though?”

 

“Yes. He’s fine. S’all legit. Sam’s not gonna hurt him.”

 

“You know I have a hard time believin’ you, right?”

 

“Fuckin’ hell, Dan, just give it a rest. It’s not our business. Leave Percy alone. We’re not getting involved. _I’m_ not getting involved. Nothing’s gonna be done about it, okay? So _drop it_.”

 

And with that, the call ended.


End file.
